US sanctions Russia's Crimean lawmakers

Six more persons, involved in annexation of Ukrainian territory, added to blacklist

The U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on six individuals representing Crimea and Sevastopol in the Russia's lower house of parliament.

The six - Dmitry Belik, Andrey Kozenko, Konstantin Bakharev, Svetlana Savchenko, Ruslan Balbek, and Pavel Shperov – were elected to the Russian State Duma in September. The Russian elections in Crimea were condemned as illegitimate by the US, EU and a number of Western countries.

The six sanctioned officials were found to be "responsible for or complicit in actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions in Ukraine and actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine," the US Treasury said.

The sanctions block the politicians' assets in the United States, and bans US companies from entering into business deals with them.

"The United States does not recognize the illegitimate elections to the Russian State Duma that took place in Crimea,"said John E. Smith, acting director of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.

He added that action was "closely coordinated with the EU, underscoring the strength of the U.S.-EU partnership in maintaining pressure on Russia until it respects the security and sovereignty of Ukraine"